Ron Dickerson

Ron Dickerson, who gave himself five years to right Temple's foundering football program, resigned Monday after his fifth season left him 8-47 as coach of the Owls. "We leave this program in a lot better shape than it was when we arrived," Dickerson said in a statement. "I personally feel as though a lead weight has been removed from my shoulders. I've taken a big sigh of relief."

Ron Dickerson, who gave himself five years to right Temple's foundering football program, resigned Monday after his fifth season left him 8-47 as coach of the Owls. "We leave this program in a lot better shape than it was when we arrived," Dickerson said in a statement. "I personally feel as though a lead weight has been removed from my shoulders. I've taken a big sigh of relief."

They met near the 37-yard line of a rain-soaked Rynearson Stadium and exchanged postgame handshakes. Temple Coach Ron Dickerson, his team a 31-28 winner, leaned toward Eastern Michigan Coach Ron Cooper and said, "I thought it was a great college football game." Great? Not really. Memorable. Without a doubt. In front of 13,000 fans, Dickerson and Cooper shared in a bit of history Thursday evening. Actually, it was more an addendum than anything else, but an important one at that.

They met near the 37-yard line of a rain-soaked Rynearson Stadium and exchanged postgame handshakes. Temple Coach Ron Dickerson, his team a 31-28 winner, leaned toward Eastern Michigan Coach Ron Cooper and said, "I thought it was a great college football game." Great? Not really. Memorable. Without a doubt. In front of 13,000 fans, Dickerson and Cooper shared in a bit of history Thursday evening. Actually, it was more an addendum than anything else, but an important one at that.

Jackie Sherrill will be coaching at Mississippi State through the 2001 season as part of a deal agreed to by college officials. . . . Temple will fire Coach Ron Dickerson after the season, the Philadelphia Daily News said in Friday's editions, citing sources close to the situation. Dickerson has an 8-46 record in five seasons as the Owls' coach, 3-7 this season. . . . Louisville Coach Ron Cooper is embroiled in a controversy over whether he had strippers at golf outings.

Los Angeles police officers provided impromptu first aid to a 13-month-old girl who had turned blue from choking Sunday, dislodging a marble lodged in her throat and saving her life. Officer Ramon Espinosa and his partner, Officer Ron Dickerson, were near an apartment in the 6700 block of Riverton Avenue about 9:30 p.m. when they heard the call--a baby was choking a few blocks away. In the apartment, Amy Anduja had turned blue. Amy's father held her in his arms and her mother sobbed.

Pete Rose turned down $10,000 for his appearances at the Mobile Alabama Bowl, telling organizers to instead give the money to charity. Mike Gottfried, the current ESPN announcer and former coach at Kansas and Pittsburgh who helped organize the bowl, said Rose declined the appearance fee. Rose was the guest speaker at a luncheon and later served as grand marshal for a bowl-related parade.

Two elderly people were killed when a car in which they were riding collided with a van at a Van Nuys intersection, Los Angeles police said Sunday. The drivers of both vehicles involved in the accident were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. The victims were identified as Lester Salazar, 85, of Van Nuys and 66-year-old Rosaleen Henszley of Santa Monica. They were passengers in a Toyota Cressida driven by Henszley's husband, Robert, 65, said Officer Ron Dickerson.

The Washington Huskies are going to lose Olin Kreutz, a mainstay of their offensive line the past two seasons, to the NFL. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound All-American center announced Wednesday he is going to pass up his senior season to make himself available for the draft in April.

For the first time in a half century, Michigan will enter its showdown against Ohio State as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press' Top 25 college football poll. The Wolverines, who beat Wisconsin, 26-16, retained the top spot they moved into last week with 44 first-place votes and 1,723 points from the panel of 70 sports writers and broadcasters Sunday. Florida State (10-0), a 58-7 winner over Wake Forest, remained No. 2, while Nebraska (10-0), 77-14 winners over Iowa State, held steady at No.

There probably aren't too many Irish eyes smiling after reading what a football recruit had to say about a visit to Notre Dame. Ron Dickerson--no relation to Eric--is the son of Penn State assistant coach Ron Dickerson. Young Dickerson is an all-state running back from State College High School and wrote a diary for the Centre (Pennsylvania) Daily Times while being recruited by many of the nation's top football schools. Here are some excerpts: "I watched some of the Notre Dame highlight film.

Todd Wright kicked three field goals, including a 35-yarder with 12:01 left in the fourth quarter, as Arkansas came from behind to beat Southwestern Louisiana, 9-7, Saturday. Wright, a junior who has made 12 consecutive field-goal attempts in Razorback Stadium, also was good from 27 and 38 yards. Southwestern Louisiana had two chances to win late.